That's why I like the idea of having everything to try all at once, you could get a better feel for the vibe, you may not remember how it sounds, but you can remember the "feel", plus all your buddies chiming in would confirm things.
Having someone there who knows the pedals and can explain how they work and how they're useful would be great, a "tone chaparone" who can listen to the client and make suggestions based on their feedback.
I'd have no problem with the cheaper pedal being the victor, you'd probably sell even more stuff when people find out the affordable option is the way to go. I only have 2 pedals that I use on occasion, a stock 80's crybaby and a $40 biyang big muff clone. I sold my "nice" pedals to buy other gear, including a modeling amp whose built in effects sound better than the pedals I sold to buy it.
I think eventually you'd find the ringers and know which ones to have on hand for a quick sale, and the ones that don't sound great would still be worth keeping around just so people can hear them and make up their own mind, so there's no real loss if the bad pedals make the good pedals sound that much better.
Rent-a-pedal
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